1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for determining the quantity of liquid product that remains in an airplanes hopper by measuring the liquid volume of an liquid agricultural product in an aircraft pay load hopper.
2. Background of the Invention
Hopper tanks for holding liquid agricultural product which is to be dispensed over a farm by a small airplane can have irregular shapes and sizes. This can result in the fact that the indication of the level of the agricultural product in the hopper tank, typically provided by a sensor of one of the various known types, can not easily be converted into a reliable indication of the quantity or volume of the agricultural product that is available for spraying. Unreliable information that relates to the quantity of liquid agricultural product that is present in the small airplane payload hopper can have a negative effect on the loading, balancing and operation of the airplane when taking off, during flight and on landing.
Systems for indicating liquid agricultural product level currently in use include mechanical, electromechanical or electronic “damping” means which makes it possible to attenuate the oscillations of the indication provided to the use upon variation in the level of the liquid agricultural product in the airplanes hopper tank due to swashing and in general, to oscillations in the level due to maneuvers or dynamic conditions involving rapid variations of the airplane such as turns, banks, accelerations, abrupt changes in altitude, etc. Such systems may measure rapid dynamic variations in the level of the liquid agriculture product in the hopper tank which does not relate to effective variations in the quantity or volume of agricultural product that is available in the tank for spraying.
Thus, there exists a need for a simple system for determining the quantity or volume of liquid agriculture product that is in an airplanes payload hopper that is available for spraying that is reliable.